Carthage Art Walk Celebrates Christmas in July

Updated:
Friday, April 21, 2017 6:07 PM EDT

CARTHAGE, MISSOURI -

It’s hard to imagine what it was like back in December with temperatures pushing 100 degrees. But organizers of tonight’s Carthage Art Walk hoped reminders of Christmas season would help distract from the heat.

Sandals, a Hawaiian shirt, it could be anyone trying to beat the heat in July. But a red hat paired with that distinctive beard. Once you hear the classic, "ho, ho, ho,” it may not how you typically see him but it’s definitely Santa.

“I vacation, I go to the beach a lot, I work on my tan because the North Pole is kind of cold,” says Bill Barksdale, posing as Santa at the event.

Officials with the Carthage Convention and Visitors Bureau hope that celebrating Christmas in July will help residents think of cooler places.

“A lot of art happens during the holidays and with the weather and our event being outdoors, it’s really hard to schedule that in December so we wanted an opportunity for our artists to feature their holiday work and we wanted our guests to flash back to cooler times,” says Wendy Douglas with the CVB.

It may seem too early to sing along with Christmas carolers or think about holiday shopping but time of year is typically busier for artists.

“It will be here before you know it and art plays an important part of the holiday season, not only for the artist creating the goodies, be it photography or sculptures or whatever, but it represents something special when the giver gives it to the recipient too,” says local artist Jane Ballard.

While she and other artists are hoping to make early sales, for Santa it’s just about making kids smile.

“Santa” gives out bags of candy, always asking, “are you sure you're on the good list?"

As for us, "I want you to know I know who's been on which list, and some people, I'm not going to mention your cameraman by name, but he needs to work on some things but you're ok,” jokes Barksdale

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